2009 Hot Rod Reunion - Old-School Reunion

Mike Thompson made the trek down from Washington, his Deuce five-window powered by a '56 Olds 324 motor and trans. While the front fenders are parts of '36 spare tire covers, Thompson made the matching, but larger diameter, rears himself.

It's one thing to see a car in the environs of an indoor show, Dana Harvey debuting his once-a-coupe 325 hemi-powered '33 at the Grand National Roadster Show, but way nicer to see 'em where they belong: out in the open at the end of a road trip.

Mike Bamber's Silver Dollar blown and injected 340 Chrysler-powered '41 Willys was a San Diego-area dragstrip terror back in the day. We seem to remember at last year's Reunion it was parked in the Grove, which made it all the more strange to find it parked alone in the swap meet area.

David Hitchinson has been busy on his '53 Hudson Brougham since we last saw it at the Sacramento Autorama early in 2009. The roof is now finished, but there's also a lot of work in that front end, with the hood extended, and along with the fenders, formed to flow into the Buick upper grille trim.

This nasty lookin' tough '64 Falcon was for sale for $9,000, and certainly would have looked good parked on our driveway, but was snapped up for somewhat less and will be looking for street races in New Zealand by the time you read this.

If we had to guess we'd say this neat little A roadster pickup was an older build with its piecrust slicks on chrome reverse wheels and blown Nailhead in front of a smooth, recessed firewall, but these days it's getting harder to tell!

Before NHRA banned aircraft engines, Art Arfons and his half brother, Walt, raced a series of Green Monster dragsters. No. 5 raced at the first NHRA Nationals in 1955 and was ultimately powered by a 1,710ci Allison V-12, which is how it appears today, restored in time to appear at the Reunion after 50 years in storage.

There's a multi-carb'd Chevy small-block under the diminutive hood of this altered wheelbase Crosley, which in time-honored tradition uses the front fenderwells for header exit.

With six color-matched carbs feeding its Imperial-sourced Hemi through Weiand log manifolds, you can bet this open-headered Model A makes all the right noises and scoots to boot. A nice detail was the lower cowl swage line reworked around the split wishbone mount.

This compact '27 Modified didn't need a large engine compartment, thanks to the use of a DOHC four-pot motorcycle engine turned 90 degrees. This sort of thing is popular amongst kit car builders in Europe, with powerful high-revving motors in light cars, but it was the first time we'd seen a similar one here in the United States, in a hot rod at least.

This '51 Ford Prefect still runs its stock chassis, albeit modified, with a narrowed '55 Chevy rearend, 327 Chevy, and Muncie four-speed. Excluding the exterior, the gas tank and horn are about the only stock items left on this British import!

The Justice Brothers Car Care Products Spotlight Award highlighted the Stone, Woods, and Cook team, with both the Swindler II and Swindler A Willys on display in the Grove, offering a great opportunity to study the evolution of a drag race team and its cars.

Kustom trucks are cool, and this chopped F-1 had all the right ingredients. Will it see a grille and front bumper swap? Guess we'll have to follow its progress at the shows next season!